TOKYO -- The average retail price of rice in Japan rose again in the week leading up to May 11, reaching 4,268 yen (about 29.4 U.S. dollars) per 5 kilograms, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said on Monday.
This marks an increase of 54 yen from the previous week, reversing a brief decline after 18 consecutive weeks of price hikes. (Japan-Rice-Price)
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COLOMBO -- Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Monday reaffirmed his unwavering commitment to ensuring that the tragic events of the past are never repeated in Sri Lanka, the President's Media Division (PMD) said in a statement.
Sri Lanka marked the 16th National War Heroes' Day celebrations on Monday. This coincides with the end of the country's 30-year conflict in 2009. (Sri Lanka-Civil War-Memorial)
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SEOUL -- Lee Jae-myung, presidential candidate of South Korea's majority liberal Democratic Party, led a poll for the June 3 presidential election, Flower Research survey showed Monday.
Lee came out on top with a support rate of 52.1 percent, taking a big lead over Kim Moon-soo, the second-biggest conservative People Power Party's presidential candidate who garnered 29.5 percent of support. (South Korea-Presidential Election)
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JAKARTA -- Indonesia's Center for Volcanology and Geological Disaster Mitigation has elevated the alert status of Mount Lewotobi in East Nusa Tenggara Province and expanded the danger zone as volcanic eruptions continue.
The alert status was raised on Sunday night following multiple eruptions, with the strongest sending an ash column 6 km into the sky. (Indonesia-Volcano Eruption)
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DHAKA -- The Bangladesh National Museum in the capital Dhaka, the country's premier cultural institution, was abuzz with visitors on Sunday as it celebrated International Museum Day.
Located in the heart of Dhaka's bustling Shahbagh Square, the museum began welcoming a steady stream of local visitors and foreign tourists as soon as it opened. (Bangladesh-Internation Museum Day, FEATURE)
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SEOUL -- Concerns mounted in South Korea over leveraged buyout (LBO) funds in the aftermath of a scandal involving a Seoul-based private equity fund (PEF), which has been criticized for unduly leveraging debt to buy blue chips, repaying debt through the sale of core assets, and eventually worsening corporate value.
The prosecution executed a search warrant in an airport in Incheon, west of Seoul, and secured a mobile phone of Michael Byungju Kim, co-founder and chairman of MBK Partners, one of the largest PEFs in Asia that manages more than 30 billion U.S. dollars in assets, local broadcaster JTBC said Saturday. (South Korea-Fund-Scandal) ■
